(Not a live challenge! Change the year to match which year you are in!)

Hey everyone! I took the month of December off of blogging and social media so it’s good to be back! January is a time for us to refocus on the new year. I know that for many of you, shaping up physically is at the top of the list. I think the fact that we are coming off of “season’s eatings” plays a big part into it! (I always wonder how our New Years resolutions would change if they didn’t fall after 2 months of tons of food in our face!) If you have followed me for any time though, you know that my main goal and purpose in life is not to just get you in shape physically, but also in every other area of life.

I truly believe that when you have better control of your life–finances, relationships, your attitude, your time, and so on–you are more apt to start and follow a physically fit life! So instead of doing a physical challenge for January, we are going to do a little series instead, but it’s one that requires YOUR participation and it’s one that will examine a few areas of your life.

Have you ever heard of a vision board? If you aren’t familiar, you are going to be real soon! A vision board, simply put, is a board that has inspiring pictures and quotes that defines a vision you have for your life or year! (If you aren’t sure, just put “vision board” in google images and you’ll see them!)

The vision board can be focused on a specific subject in life, say, relationships, or health, or can just be all-encompassing! I am going to step you through creating your own “Dream it. Do it.” Vision Board for 2014! I am really excited about this and I’ll be doing it with you! Here are some pics of mine (so far) and a quick video introducing the series!

DREAM IT.

Why do we do vision boards? First, it helps us to think through what some dreams are for our lives. Next, it helps make those dream more real and concrete by having us purposefully focus on choosing which are most important. Finally, they are great reminders for us when we get off track. Visual reminders are excellent motivation for people. I have a couple quotes and scriptures on my desk where I write that I reference often which really helps me focus and brings me back to why I do what I do. Hopefully these vision boards will be a point of inspiration for you throughout 2014 because let’s be honest, we’ve all felt like quitting.

I’m going to take us through 4 weeks of examining 4 areas of our lives. This will be a work in progress through the month of January, but by the end of it, you all have something tangible that you can hang up in a spot and reference as the year progresses.

So the series looks like this for each Monday in January:

January 6: Your Health

January 13: Your Faith

January 20: Your Finances

January 27: Your Relationships

Each week, I’ll ask you to evaluate that particular area. As we dream and examine, I’ll take you through a few questions. We will dream about how we foresee 2014 looking for those areas. I’ll give you some things to jog your thinking and even to inspire you as we hit each week. Dreaming big for our lives doesn’t mean we always add on in life. At times it means we need to take-away, or even stay the same so we’ll focus around these 3 ideas:

Slim-Down : Shape-Up : Stay the Same

DO IT.

Remember, a vision board doesn’t promise that these things will come true! Hard work, purpose, and planning are all a part of the next step, so now that you know where you are headed, let’s figure out how to get there! We are going to take these vision boards just one step further and I’m going to ask you to write a “do it” plan for a few of your dreams!

Use this template below, or something you may prefer, to fill out and paste on your board. (Maybe even in an journal you refer to often) Create one “do it” per topic, or maybe two, but don’t overwhelm yourself. Remember–winning small is a game plan that always works! Pick just a few small things and stick to it!

♥♥♥

We’re going to go old school for a bit and bring out magazines and scissors! You’ll cut out pictures that demonstrate what you have a goal of and paste them on the board. (If you want to keep it digital, you can do so using a collage app like pic monkey.com or picasa)

Here’s what I’d like you to do before our first day of homework on January 6th:

– Purchase: Foam board or poster board like this (Dollar store!) and loosely draw a light pencil line diving it up into 4 squares. Each of those squares is where we’ll post our pics. You can make a header at the top of it if you’d like, but don’t get hung up on that if you can’t get it done. I’m more interested in the practical than the pretty. (I’ll include a header and topic printable below!)

– Prepare: Pair of scissors, tape and any other cute things you may want to use. (That’s for you scrapbookers out there. People like me will be happy enough to get the stuff taped on it right! ha!) Grab some magazines you have around the house and keep them nearby -OR- If you are like me, and hardly have magazines, create a pinterest board that is named 2014 Dream it.Do It and pin there. You can print off images from there! 🙂

– Pick: Time when you will “do the work” for the board. It might be right after you read this post, or on Wednesday night right after the kids go down to bed. Believe me–time just won’t “pop” up, so work it into your schedule!

– Pray: That God would guide you and give you wisdom and clarity as we work through this project this month!

Also, this vision board can be done individually or even as a family! What a great way to find some purpose for your family for the year as you all pray about and pave the way for success!

This will be something that you can choose to keep private, or share with others! I will be sharing some of mine throughout the journey and will ask some of you to post pictures either on your blog (if you have one) or on one of your social media accounts, instagram, Facebook, or twitter. We’ll use the hashtag # dreamitdoit

Who is in with me! (I’m totally doing it with you!) If you are, comment below! I’ll see you back here Monday, January 6th!

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I was wondering if you have any fitness ideas for someone who has arthritis (I’m 52 but feel like 80 most days), most likely deconditioned. I’ve been raising my grandchildren and no longer go to the gym (it has been years now). I have been so busy between work and the kids that I haven’t fit in time for me. I need to get more structured am lean toward being a free spirit-which I am finding it’s better to be structured. I have little support so I don’t have friends or family to help. I do have free weights and a bike for when the weather does turn nice. I have been shoveling snow as about the only exercise. I usually stretch before getting out of bed and have not been doing any cardio for a long time. I have been very sporadic in my exercise time. I’d like to find something that we could do together. I have one foot that has been bothering me so I can’t run any longer. Ideas are greatly appreciated. Money is also a factor at this point in time so it has to be low budget. Thanks

LOVE this idea, I can’t wait to get started!! Thanks for all you encouragement and advice! I’m a fairly new mom who gained A LOT of weight during pregnancy and almost have it all lost thanks to your posts! Now if only I can lose my “marriage” weight and get back to my pre marriage weight in 2014. Thanks again and God Bless!

Clare,
Thank you SO much for doing this! I’ve been brainstorming a vision board of my own for a few days but had yet to put one together as I couldn’t think of a way to organize one to include everything I wanted!
I LOVE the ‘Dream It, Do It’ tagline and to know you’re doing this with me and I am not alone is such a blessing! I can’t wait for each Monday in January to help guide me through this, I am so thankful!
Excited!!

Thank you for this idea! I have been stewing over your stewardship/discipline/pleasure post, and I’ve decided to make 2014 a year focused on stewardship in the four areas you listed. I’ve been curating a Pinterest board, and now I am going to make an actual board too.

This is divine Paula, the colours of pink are gorgeous and the whole design draws my eye right into the focal image. I am very impressed with your sewing – puts me to shame. Think I had better get the sewing machine serviced!!I hope your ankle improves real soon so you don't have to shuffle so much.Take care.hugs {brenda} xox

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I am in :)!I have done something like is in the t when I lost 30lbs for my wedding and I really loved it but never to this xtent with the different areas in life which I really think is neat :)!.thanks for doing this!

I’ve been feeling quite overwhelmed with all the possible “resolutions” I could be making. I like this approach – it gives me permission to slow down, pray, and seek God for His direction and for Him to give me the dreams which I should be dreaming. It’s not a calendar thing – it’s a heart thing.

Love it! I just found your blog through Good Morning Girls and already feel connected!
I am obviously behind on the project but I intend to catch up this week. I’m excited to get my 2 daughters involved too! 🙂

Please let me know if you’re looking for a writer for your blog.
You have some really great articles and I think I would be a
good asset. If you ever want to take some of
the load off, I’d love to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine.
Please send me an e-mail if interested. Regards!

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[…] are off and running into 2014! I am so very excited that many of you have gotten behind the vision boards that we will be working on this month. Honestly, I wasn’t exactly sure how people who like the […]